EBRO DELTA AUGUST 2006

Sunday August 6th 2006

Waking up to yet another sunny day in the Ebro Delta, we headed out for a morning of birdwatching in the southern part of the delta. As Michelle and Francesco were staying in the village of Eucaliptus, we started off in the nearby organic rice fields of Riet Vell. Lapwing, Black-tailed Godwit, Ruff, and Curlew Sandpiper, were present among the usual Black-winged Stilts and numerous Black-headed Gulls, and we stayed for a while observing them as they were foraging in the early morning light.

From Riet Vell we continued on towards the lagoon of Alfacada, and on the way we stopped at an experimental field which is currently empty of crops. The field was practically swarming with shorebirds, and the first scanning of the field was almost stressfull - carefully checking out each bird is not always easily combined with the desire to scan for anything unusual, particularly as several American vagrants have been seen in the delta this summer! In addition to the species encountered in Riet Vell, this site held Wood Sandpiper, Green Sandpiper, Greenshank, Little Stint, and even a single Temminck's Stint. A couple of Marsh Sandpipers were foraging alongside the varicoloured groups of Ruffs in the field, and Curlew Sandpipers in all shades of red were interspersed between the numerous other shorebirds. A group of Glossy Ibis passed overhead, and Purple and Grey Herons were foraging in the surrounding rice fields. After watching the spectacle for a while, Iben suddenly discovered an unusual bird next to a couple of male Ruffs. Smaller, with paler legs and a distinctly striped breast; the Pectoral Sandpiper was still to be found in the delta! A great surprise for Francesco, who wasn't aware that a Pectoral Sandpiper was around, and a new species for Iben, who had so far managed to miss this bird on numerous birding trips.

We went on to the tower at Alfacada in high spirits. One of the first birds entering our field of view was a Great Cormorant passing the observatory, from where we also had great views of Night Heron, Squacco Heron, Great White Egret, Little Egret, Cattle Egret, and Little Bittern. Whiskered Terns were hunting elegantly over the channel along with Barn Swallows and Sand Martins, and several groups of Black Terns were passing by the beach. Purple Gallinules followed by their large and long-legged offspring were demonstrating their foraging techniques, and a Kingfisher was calling repeatedly from its hiding place somewhere below the observatory.

On the other side of the channel, in Illa de Buda, a group of Flamingos added a touch of pink to the drab colours of the numerous moulting ducks foraging in the lagoon. The first Greylag Goose of the season had settled down on the island, and the Ruddy Shelduck seen since the 28th of July was also still present. Yellow Wagtails occupied every little bush, and a group of Avocet were foraging in the shallow water. An adult Mediterranean Gull in winter plumage testified to the fact that summer is coming to an end, but nevertheless we were happy to see it.

Our next stop was at Pont del Través, where we encountered both Little and Great Crested Grebes with chicks. Although relatively common to most birders, the sight of a Little Grebe feeding an even smaller one is always worth an extra few minutes. Some Red-crested Pochards slowly paddled along, and large groups of Coots were starting to form in the open areas of the lagoons of Encanyissada and El Clot.

Our last stops were around the salty lagoon called La Tancada. Here, we added Slender-billed Gull, Sandwich Tern, and Lesser Short-toed Lark to our list, and we also had superb views of Avocets with their young at close range. Just before lunchtime we called it a day and agreed to meet again soon.